Jason Hammel (13-5, 2.75 ERA) takes the hill for the Chicago Cubs (78-44) as they square off against Jorge De La Rosa (7-7, 5.29 ERA) and the Colorado Rockies (59-64) in the last of a three-game series at Coors Field. The Cubs won the last game 9-2, and the series is currently tied 1-1. Action begins at 4:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 21 and can be seen on RTRM and WLS.
De La Rosa pitched 6.0 innings in his last outing, surrendering four runs, striking out four and walking four in a 5-4 defeat to the Nationals. Trevor Story (.272, 67 Rs, 27 HRs, 72 RBIs, 8 SBs) went 1 for 2 yesterday with one RBI. Hammel went 7.0 innings, surrendering zero runs, striking out seven and walking three in a 4-1 win over the Brewers in his most recent start. Kris Bryant (.300, 98 Rs, 31 HRs, 83 RBIs, 8 SBs) has been successful at the plate for the Cubs, going 2 for 5 yesterday with two runs, one home run, and four RBIs.
Chicago takes on Colorado as a -150 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 11 runs. The Rockies have an overall money line of +102 and a record as the underdog of 34-42. The Rockies are one of the best in the MLB in terms of extra base hits with 433. Colorado’s pitching staff has been doing poorly against opposing offenses during the last 10 games, allowing an average of 6.7 runs per game, well above its season average of 5.2.
Over in the other dugout, Chicago is coming in with an overall money line of +75 and an impressive record of 72-36 as the favorite. Offensively, they average 5.1 runs per game, which is good for second in the NL. The Cubs are tough outs for opponents, ranking second in the NL with 9.4 hits per road game. Chicago is excellent at drawing walks with an NL-best 4.1 per game. When it comes to preventing batters from getting on base, the Cubs are the best in the league with a WHIP of 1.114 for the season.
The Rockies lead the season series, 3-2. The Rockies have a 44-43 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Hammel takes the mound. De La Rosa (LHP) will be on the hill against the Cubs, who have very good records against left-handed starting pitchers on the road and overall of 11-5 and 26-12, respectively.
Predictions: SU Winner – CHC, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after seven innings, Chicago is 41-20, while Colorado is 27-34.
The Cubs are coming off of a hot pitching game where they recorded nine strikeouts. The Rockies have a record of 23-32 when they are struck out that many times or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Rockies are 43-13. The Cubs have a 66-13 record when outhitting opponents.
Both falling in the top five of the league based on total runs this season, Colorado ranks second with 649 runs and Chicago is third with 627.
Ranking first in walks, Chicago has earned 500 this season. Colorado ranks 11th with 395 walks.
The Rockies are 46-34 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Cubs are 57-23 when they hit at least one homer.
